One’s mind can have thousands of thoughts a day, and these can play a major role in one’s happiness. An important focus of Happy Thinking is changing thoughts that can cause unhappiness.
The thoughts in one’s mind interact with each other and also react to the outside world. The nature of these interactions determines how happy one feels in the moment. Some thoughts are “positive” for one’s happiness; when facing challenges, they help one think clearly and remain positive. On the other hand, some thoughts are “negative” for one’s happiness, as they, when facing challenges, tend to distort reality and lower one’s mood.
To better understand how thoughts can influence one’s happiness, let us think of a simple scenario.
Imagine that two people are working for an excellent company. This company pays big salaries and offers numerous luxurious perks. Unsurprisingly, both these people are very happy.
But now imagine that things go wrong with this company. Management makes poor business decisions, causing the company to lose money. Eventually, with no money to continue operating, the company closes, and the two people lose their jobs.
Unsurprisingly, after losing their lucrative jobs, both people feel very unhappy.
Now, let’s imagine that, when facing the stressful situation of losing their jobs, the two people think differently.
The first person thinks, “Well, that was a great job, but that is no more. There is no point in thinking of what I have lost. I am not a failure; it’s just unfortunate that the company collapsed. Even though there are not many jobs out there at the moment, I must hope for the best and start job hunting to find a new job.”
On the other hand, the second person has thoughts such as, “How terrible! Bad things happen only to me. I will never get another job as I am useless. There is no point trying, as the world is useless and unfair.”
Both people are facing the same problem, but each has a markedly different “way of thinking” about it.
The first person’s thoughts are “positive” because they don’t make things worse than they already are. This person’s thoughts keep their mind in a state where they can effectively consider potential solutions. The positive outlook will help the person move on and ultimately find a new job.
On the other hand, the second person’s thoughts are “negative” as they may make things feel worse than they actually are. They only make the person feel bad and offer no constructive solutions. With these negative thoughts, the person may well spiral into depression, which itself may make finding a new job difficult.
Both people face the same problem, but because they think differently, each has a different mental state: one positive and the other negative. In this way, thoughts can strongly influence happiness.
It is essential to limit the power of negative thoughts to affect one’s happiness. A primary aim of Happy Thinking is to give practical ways to overcome them. That is, despite the challenges you face, you can remain calm and positive. In this state, despite the rough sea around you, you remain generally content and not in distress.
In the next section, I will share common negative thoughts. This can help you recognise such thoughts when they occur in your mind.